After a disappointing last weekend, FAU (27-12, 9-6 AAC) bounced back in sweeping fashion over Wichita State (12-27, 4-11 AAC) as the Owls bats came alive.
Game One
The first inning was a sign of things to come for FAU as the Owls put up a five-spot in the first. Those runs came from a Patrick Ward RBI Single and then a clutch two-out bases loaded grand slam from Nick Romano.
The Shockers responded in the third with a run, but Florida Atlantic scored runs in the third and the fourth as FAU held a commanding 7-1 lead in the fourth.
SP Trey Beard put on a clinic during his start. In six-innings pitched, he allowed only one run off five hits. Beard also struck out seven.
The WSU offense added one more run in the seventh, but the Owls plated two more in the eighth as FAU took game one 9-2.
Game Two
The start of Friday’s contest was a different story. Marshall Lipsey’s solo shot in the third started the scoring as Florida Atlantic led 1-0 after three. Wichita State responded with a three-run fifth inning.
Heading into the bottom of the fifth, FAU trailed 3-1, but a RBI groundout pulled the Owls with-in one, 3-2.
In the seventh, it seemed the Shockers were going to start pulling away as WSU added an insurance run leading 4-2. In the bottom of the inning though, Florida Atlantic scored two-runs and with the bases loaded Ward came to the plate.
The first pitch he saw, the infielder sent the ball over the wall as he flipped the game on it’s head thanks to another grand slam. The Owls held on to win 8-4.
SP Tyler Murphy pitched five innings as he allowed eight hits, and three earned runs. The pitcher that earned the win was Zach Kilby, his second on the season.
Game Three
Wichita State miscues were arguably their downfall in the final game of the series.
FAU jumped ahead 2-0 in the third thanks to a John Martinez bases-loaded walk and a sac-fly by John Schroeder.
Later in the fifth, Florida Atlantic added to their advantage thanks to an RBI double by Martinez, 3-0.
In the sixth, the Shockers made some noise as WSU scored a run. Eventually in the seventh, Wichita State loaded the bases, but Redshirt freshman Kide Adetuyi got the Owls out of the jam, with some help from the Shockers on the base paths.
FAU extended their lead in the seventh by adding three runs. Up 6-2 after a Shockers run in the top-half of the eighth, OF Marshall Lipsey stole home after timing out the catcher’s throwback to the pitcher. Wichita State hit a two-run shot in the top-half of the ninth, but the Owls held on winning 7-4.
SP James Litman pitched 5.1 innings, and allowed only one run on three hits. Litman held the Shockers to a .158 BA against the 20 batters faced on the mound.
FAU Series Notables
In the series, FAU batted a .290 AVG. While just below average compared to the overall season numbers, the production came at the right times compared to last weekend against Memphis. A major problem was timely hitting last week, and it seemed the Owls cured themselves but passed the bug onto WSU.
The two teams were near equal in hits (Florida Atlantic 27, Wichita State 26), but the Owls were able to draw walks at double the Shockers rate (FAU 16, WSU 8). Notably, the arms were the major difference.
A bullpen arm that was needed over the weekend was game two’s winner, Zach Kilby. The Junior LHP entered Friday’s contest with two-runners on in the sixth-inning. After an error and a walk, Kilby locked the inning down and got out of the jam. If he had not, WSU could have earned a multi-run lead.
Overall, Kilby pitched two innings. He allowed only one run off a solo-shot, and held Wichita State to a .143 batting average.
As a team, FAU allowed a 3.33 ERA, nearly .70 runs lower than their season average.
Two batters had grand slams over the weekend, Ward and Romano. In his three games played, Romano only had a .222 BA. The important number to remember is the number of RBI’s he had, which was five. His grand slam in game one was the difference between an early one-run or five-run lead. Arguably, the momentum boost Florida Atlantic rode throughout the weekend.
If FAU can keep racking up hits with runners on base, then the Owls train will keep on chugging.
Look Ahead
Florida Atlantic now sits third in the AAC after entering the weekend in sixth. One of the teams tied with the Owls is Charlotte. That is the team FAU will face next weekend. But before then UCF comes to Paradise. In their first matchup the Owls took the game 4-3. Now in hopes of clinching the series against the Big 12 school, FAU and the Knights will square off on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 at FAU Baseball Stadium.
